Stator coil lacing machine having a disconnectable geneva drive



April 29, 1969 STATOR COIL LACING MACHINE HAVING A DISCONNECTABLE GENEVA DRIVE Filed oct. 2o. 1965 R. E. FREDERICK sheet if i4 4,?

April 29, 1969 R. E. FREDER|K 3,440,979

STATOR COIL LACING MACHINE HAVING A DISCONNECTABLE GENEVA DRIVE Filed oct. 2o. 1965 Y sheet .2 of 4 y INVENTOR.

)oZer I ffef raw? STATOR COIL LACING MACHINE HAVING A DISCONNECTABLE GENEVA DRIVE Sheet Filed Oct. 20. 1965 April 29, 1969 R. E. FREDERICK 3,440,979

STATOR COIL LACING MACHINE HAVING A DISCONNECTABLE GENEVA DRIVE Filed Oct. 20, 1965 Sheel 4 of 4 INVENTQR.

United States Patent Oce 3,440,979 Patented Apr. 29, 1969 3,440,979 STATOR COIL LACING MACHINE HAVING A DISCONNECTABLE GENEVA DRIVE Robert E. Frederick, Detroit, Mich., assignor to Link Engineering Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Oct. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 498,640 Int. Cl. Db 23/00; F16h 55/04; D041) 35/00 U.S. CI. 112-2 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A machine for lacing the coils of wound stators h-as a needle and supporting bar which is advanced and retracted, tilted upwardly and downwardly and rotated on its axis. The needle operates in conjunction with an upwardly and downwardly threaded laying guide to form loops which are spread by the angular advancement of the stator. The operation occurs during a dwell period of the stator which may be retained for laying a number of loops at one or more points in the 360 incremental advancement of the st-ator.

Machines are now available in the trade for winding coils on stators within the slots extending inwardly of the stator body. To retain the wires of the coils in -rm lixed relation to each other, the machine of the present invention performs a thread lacing operation on the coils.

The machine has a needle with a hook end which is advanced along a land of the stator between the grooves in which the coils are wound to extend therebeyond within the stator. The lacing thread is fed to a guide which has its end adjacent to the internal wall of the stator. The guide is movable upwardly above the needle and downwardly below the needle and oscillated to lay the thread into the facing hook of the needle before the needle is retracted. Upon retraction, the needle is turned to permit the loop thereon to slide therefrom as the thread is drawn therethrough. A -mechanism is provided for tilting the needle upwardly so that when again advanced .it will pass above the top of the coils. The thread guide is moved upwardly with the needle which was rotated to present the hook end theretoward. The thread is laid in the hook end upon the reverse oscillation of the thread guide after which the needle is retracted while rotated to have the side opposite the hook presented upwardly so that it can pull the hooked thread through the loop formed therebefore which passes from the needle end. The needle then drops to the lower position along with the thread guide which oscill-ates to face the hook at the needle end which has been rotated theretoward. Upon the reverse movement of the guide and thread will be laid within the hook, and the cycle will be repeated as the stator is indexed by steps having dwell intervals therebetween. The indexing of the stator is produced by a Geneva drive by which the stator is advanced and then dwelled during the forward and retracting movement of the needle through the coils and again when advanced and retracted above the coils. In a more advanced form the Geneva movement may be disconnected so that the stator will dwell for a predetermined number of forward and advancing movements of the needle so that a plurality of loops may be formed on a particular coil. A programming device is preferably provided for controlling the amount of dwell time and the point at which the dwell of the stator occurs.

Accordingly, the main objects of the invention are: to provide a synchronized movement to a needle, to a thread guide and to a Geneva movement which dwells the stator as the needle advances and re-tracts relative to the coil to make a loop of a thread thereabout; to provide a CJI Geneva movement for advancing and dwelling a stator while a loop is formed of a thread about a coil thereof which is programmed to have the `Geneva movement inoperative while the needle operates to produce a plurality of loops about the coil, the number of which is predetermined by the programming device, and in general to provide a lacing machine for the coils of a wound stator which is simple in construction, positive in operation and economical of manufacture.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding, to 4the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a broken perspective view of a coil lacing machine embodying features of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section-al view of `a modified form of Geneva movement as illustrated in FIG. 3 taken on the line 2-2 thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 2 with the parts broken away showing the drive `for synchronizing the various operations of the machine employing a Geneva movement of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. l, taken on the line 4-4 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4, taken on the line 5-5 thereof, and

FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic view of a circuit for controlling the Geneva movement of the device.

Referring to FIGURE 1, the lacing machine of the present invention has a base plate 1 supported on legs 11, and a motor and speed reducing unit 12 therebelow. Four corner pillars 13 support a plate 14 parallel to the base plate 10. A sleeve 15 is secured to spaced bosses 16 on upright support 17 for upward and downward tilting movement thereon. A frame 18 supports a pair of slide bars 19 on which a carriage 21 is slidably supported by bosses 22. The carriage 21 supports slide b-ars 23 which extend upwardly therefrom in parallel relation to each other. A pair of spaced arms 24 are slidably disposed on the bars 23. A needle bar guiding sleeve 2S is pivoted to the arms 24 for tilting movement when the arms 24 move upwardly and downwardly on the slide bars 23. A pair of vertically disposed slide bars 26 are supported on the plate 14 and are engaged by bosses 27 interconnected by a web 28. An arm 29 on the bosses 27 is recessed to receive an eye 31 on the end of rods 32 which are secured in pivotal relation thereto by a pivot 33. The web 28 supports base webs 34 containing spaced apertures 35 into one of which a pivot 36 is selectively disposed. The pivot supports a sleeve 37 in which a needle bar 38 is slidably movable. The needle bar is also slidably movable in the guide sleeve 25 and in the pivoted sleeve 15.

The guide bar 38 has a pinion 39 secured thereto within a way 41 within the sleeve 15 for accurately positioning a rack 44 for movement therein when the teeth of the rack are engaged in the teeth of the pinion 39. A link 43 is secured to the carriage 21 by a pivot 44, the opposite end of the link being pivoted to a T-headed boss 45 which is adjustably secured in a slot 4:8 of a rotatable head 47. The head is mounted on bearings in the plate 14 and a sprocket 48 is secured on the stub shaft 49 which extends below the plate. A bearing support 51 on the plate 14 has a stub shaft v52 extending below the plate for supporting a driving sprocket 53 and a plate 54 having a T- slot therein. A T-headed stud 55 is adjustably supported in the slot in the plate 54 and a bushing 56 is pivotally supported on the stud. The bushing has a pair of spaced arms 57 in which a link 58 is secured by a pivot 59. A stub shaft 61 is supported by bearings in the plate l14 having a truncated conical upper end 62. The bottom end of the shaft 61 has a Geneva element 63 secured thereto which cooperates with a pin and slot on the shaft 52 to produce the Geneva movement for advancing the shaft 61 in increments with a dwell time therebetween. A gear train supporting plate `64- is pivoted about a shaft 60 to different positions, located by a spring pressed pin 65 having a ring thereon by which the pin may be raised and moved from one aperture in the plate 14 to another. A gear 66 is releasably supported on a truncated conical end `62 of the shaft 61 for driving gears 67 and 68 which are pivotally mounted on shafts `60 and 601 which are fixed to the plate 64. The teeth of the gear `68 are in mesh with the teeth of the ring gear 69 and the teeth of the gear 67 may be swung into and out of mesh with the teeth of the gear 66 when the plate 64 is swung about the shaft 60. The ring gear 69 is made of bronze or other bearing material and is mounted in a shoulder 71 in a supporting ring 72. A cover plate 73 is secured to the ring 72 having a shoulder in engagement with the shoulder of the ring gear to secure it in rotatable xed position on the supporting ring 72. The ring gear 69 supports a washer-like plate 74 on which posts 75 and a washer-like ring 76 forms a fixture for supporting a wound stator 77 located thereon by a pin 78 which extends in a slot in the stator wall. The stator is of a standard type made up of a plurality of plates having slots 79 therein in which wire is wound to form coils 81, over which the loops of thread are to be formed by the machine of the present invention to retain the wires of the coils in fixed relation to each other.

A guiding sleeve 82 is secured to the table 14 centrally of the ring gear 69. A hollow tube 83 is rotatable and slidable within the guide sleeve 82 having a slotted collar 84 supported on the bottom and retained in position by a pair of pins 85 supported in one end of a pair of offset arms 86. The opposite end of the arms 86 is secured by pivots 87 to llat faces 88 on the pair of pillars v13 located at the left hand corners of the base plate 10. An arm 89 is xed to the tube 83 to extend from one side thereof and positioned thereon by adding or subtracting shims 91 which abut the shoulder on the tube 83. A link 92 is secured by a pivot 93 to the end of the arm 89, the opposite ends of the link being secured by a pivot 94 to the end of the link 58. A stator guide sleeve 95 is supported by the sleeve 82 for accurately locating the stator on its fixture. The upper end of the tube 83 has a tubular thread guide 96 through which the thread 97, moving upwardly through the tube, passes in position to lay the thread over the needle 98 which is supported on the forward end of the needle bar 38. The needle has a notch 99 which forms the hook into which the thread is laid by the needle guide 96 which is oscillated across a slot 101 in the guide sleeve 95.

The base plate supports a plate 102 across an opening therethrough which supports a bearing 4103 for a shaft 104 having a cylindrical end 105 journaled in the plate 14. The upper end of the shaft carries a sprocket 106 which is in aligned relation with the sprocket 48, 53 and an adjustable sprocket 107 mounted on the underside of the plate 14 and engaged by a chain y108.

Rise and fall cam rings 109 and 111 are secured on the shaft 104. A pair of bosses 112 support rods 113 on which a cross bar 114 is vertically movable against springs 111'5 mounted on the bar thereabove. The cross bar '114 has a roller 116 on its central inner face which rests upon the cam surface 117 on the cam ring 109. As the ring 109 rotates, the cross bar 114 moves upwardly on the rising side of the cam surface and moves downwardly on the falling side of the cam surface. A bracket 4118 on the underside of the plate 14 supports a cross member 119, the ends of which support rods 121 upon which a cross bar 122 is mounted for vertical movement against the tension of spring `123 mounted on the rods. The cross bar has a roller 124 on its inner central face which engages Cil the cam surface `125 on the cam ring 111. The cam surface produces the upward movement of the cross bar 122 on the rising part of the cam surface 125 and the lowering of the cross bar when the roller is in contact with the falling part of the cam surface. A pair of spaced bosses 126, extending from the rear face of the cross bar 122, is connected by a pin 127 which pivotally supports the ends of a pair of links 128, the opposite end being pivotally on a pin '129 connected to the spaced offset brackets 86. The upward movement of the cross bar 122 and link V128 rocks the offset arms 86 and moves the tube 83 upwardly to have the thread guide 96V thereof reach a top position above the needle 98 and when lowered, a bottom position therebelow. At the same time the rotation of the slotted plate 54 oscillates the rod 58, the arm 89, the tube 83 and the thread guide sleeve 96. The guide sleee 96 lays the thread in the hook of the needle at the -top and bottom positions of the thread guide sleeve and the needle.

The lower end of the rack 42 is secured in a clevis 131 by a pin 132. The clevis is secured on the end of a rod 133 which extends through the plate 14 and is secured by a pivot 134 to a link 135. The link 135 is supported on a pin 136 to a pair of spaced supporting plates 137 suspended from the underside of the plate 14. A pivot 138 connects a link 139 to the link 135, the opposite end of which is secured by a pin 141 to the end of a link 142 on the opposite end of which is secured by a pin 143 to a link 144. The opposite end of the link 144 is located `between a pair of bosses 146 on the upper end of the cross bar 114 connected thereto by a pivot 145. The link 142 is secured by a pin 147 to the supporting plates 137 midway between the pins 141 and 143 to provide a 1:1 ratio thereto. The pin 136 is located in a position so that its distance from the pin 134 is twice the distance from the pin 138 to thereby provide a 2:1 ratio thereto. The upward movement of the cross bar 114 moves the link 144 upwardly, which movement passing through the links 142 and 135 produces twice the movement to the rod 133 and to the rack 42.

The motor and gear -box 12 of rotation to the shaft 14 which upon turning, drives the cam rings 10 and 111 and the sprocket y106. The rotation of the cam rings 109 and 111 produces the vertical reciprocation of the cross bars 114, 122, the former oscillating the needle bar 38, the latter tilting the needle bar to an upward and downward position for locating the needle below and above the coil 81 of the stator. The upward movement of the cross bar 122 also rocks the offset arms 86 to raise and lower the tube 83 to position the thread guide sleeve 96 above and below the needle end.

The driving of the chain 108 by the sprocket 106 rotates the head 47 for sliding the carriage 21 and the needle lbar guide 25 forward and backwardly for reciprocating the needle bar 38 in its supporting sleeve 15, The chain also drives the sprocket 53 and shaft 52 which operate the Geneva element 63 and oscillates the rod 58 for turning the tube 83. The Geneva element advances the ring gear 69 in increments with dwell time therebetween. One complete revolution of the shaft 104 produces the advancement and retraction of the needle 98 both when passing through the bottom of the coil 81 and across the top of the coil.

In operation, the rotation of shaft 104 rotates the two cam rings 109 and 111 which raises the cross bar and lowers the cross bar 122 and drives the chain 108. This rotates the needle bar as it is moved forwardly by the rotation of the head 47. Since the cross member 122 is not raised, the needle bar will remain in substantially a horizotal position and be advanced 4beneath the turns of the coils 81. The Geneva element 63 is stationary and in a dwell period having advanced the stator 77 to locate the coil relative to the needle 98. The continued rotation of the shaft 22 which operates the Geneva element produces the advancement and the retraction of the link 58 which produces the rotation of the tube 83 and of the thread provides the desired speed guide sleeve 96 which advances the thread and lays it into the hook end 99 of the needle 98 which is presented theretoward due to the rotation of the needle bar 38. The continued rotation of the bar moves the notched end of the needle so that it will face upwardly while being withdrawn so that the loop thereon will pass from the needle end as the thread laid within the hook end draws the thread therethrough. The continued rotation of the shaft 104 moves the roller 116 on the down side of the cam face 117 of the cam ring 109 to move the rack 42 downwardly and thereby return the hook end 99 to face toward the thread guide sleeve 96 which had rotated counterclockwise to have the thread facing the notch. Meanwhile, the roller 124 has been climbing the face 125 of the cam ring 111 to approach the top side thereof which raises the needle 98 to a position above the coil 81 and the thread guide sleeve 96 above the needle as pointed out hereinabove. At the same time the Geneva element 63 has been advanced to advance the ring 69 another increment to widen the loop being formed by the needle and thread. After the laying of thread in the hook end of the needle, the needle bar 38 is retracted due to the further rotation of the head 47 and is rotated by the further downward movement of the rack 42 until the smooth side of the needle is at the top so that the formed loop will slide therefrom as the thread is drawn therethrough. At the end of the rotation of the needle bar 38 and its retraction, the Geneva element 63 is rotated to advance the stator the next increment where a dwell period will occur. The needle is now in lower position as well as the thread guide sleeve 96 and all the elements are in a position to repeat the cycle upon the next rotation of the shaft 104 to form another loop about the coil or the next adjacent coil. The cycles are completed when all of the loops have been applied to all of the coils after which the machine is stopped, the laced stator is removed yor turned over so that the coils at the opposite end of the stator frame can have the loops applied thereto.

It is to be understood that a similar arrangement of elements can be applied to another part of the plates and 14 so that the bottom ends of the coils can be laced at the time as the top coils are being laced. It is to be understood that the movement of a thread through the tube and the guide sleeve 96 provides a sufficient drag on the thread to retain it in position in the needle hook. With certain types of threads this may not be true and a tensioning device well known in the art may be employed to provide a predetermined holding force on the thread.

It was found desirable to apply several loops about a coil of the series or any or all of the coils at a predetermined point of advancement of the stator. This requires dwell time for the stator as the needle bar and thread lguide and other elements continue to function. To attain this dwell time, a structure is provided for rendering the Gene-va element `63 inoperative for any number of cycles of operation performed by the other parts of the machine. This means that in the same area of a coil a number of loops with be formed by the needle as long the machine is operating and the Geneva element 63 is dwelled. The structure required to change the machine to produce this dwell time is illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3. A Geneva element 151 is splined or otherwise secured to a shaft 152 for vertical movement thereon. The shaft is secured by bearings 153 to the plate 14 with a conical element l154 in position to support a driving gear 155 so that it is readily removed and replaced by different size gears so that when driving through a gear chain a change in the degree of increment advancement v of the ring gear 69 will occur for different size coils and stators. An annular slot 156 is provided in the end of the Geneva element 155 in which a pair of pins 157 extend. The lpins are mounted on a bifurcated end 158 of a link 159 supported in an end slot of an arm 161 having extending flanges 162 which are secured by bolts 163 to the underface of the plate 14. The other end of the link 159 is secured by a pivot 164 within a slot in a clevis 1-65 mounted on the end of a piston rod 166. The rod is mounted on a piston within a cylinder -167 which lis secured to the underside of a plate 14.

The Geneva element 151 has six slots 168 therein disposed 60 apart with arcuate edge recesses 169 disposed therebetween. A driven shaft 171 for operating the Geneva element 161 is secured by bearings 170 to the plate 14. A sprocket 172 is keyed to the shaft and driven by a chain 173. The shaft has a plate 174 thereon which supports a headed pin 175, the head of which moves within a slot =168 of the Geneva element 151. Beneath the plate 174 a slot 176 is provided to permit the arms having the slots 168 therein to clear the shaft 171 as the Geneva element 151 is advanced by the head of the pin 175. After the pin passes from a slot 168, the arcuate recess 169 will dwell and be retained against advancement by the presence of the end of the shaft 171 in an adjacent recess 169. The system is interlocked electrically so as to prevent the operation of the piston within the cylinder 167 while the Geneva element 151 is being driven. When in dwell position, the piston may be moved to retract the rod 166 within the cylinder to rock the arm 159 clockwise to move the Geneva element downwardly to a position illustrated in dot and dash line. The moves the slot 168 from engagement with the head of the pin 175 as the shaft 171 continues to rotate. Thus the ring gear 69 is no longer driven and as the other parts of the machine continue to operate, the needle will make continuous loops at one point about a coil which is positioned at the needle location. The loops will build up until such time that the piston -rod 166 is moved outwardly of the cylinder when the head of the pin 175 is out of engagement with a slot 168 controlled by the electrical interlock. The Geneva element will be moved upwardly to a position where it will be engaged by the head of the pin 175 upon the next advancement thereof and the indexing of this stator will begin.

A shaft 178 is secured to the plate 14 by bearings 179. A sprocket =181 is keyed to the shaft and driven by the chain 173. A head 182 is provided on the bottom of the shaft 178 having a flange disc 183 therein containing a T-shaped slot 184. A T-headed pin has its head disposed within the slot 184 for adjustment therealong to regulate the degree of throw to the eccentric provided thereby. The T-headed pin y185 has a sleeve bearing 186 and a washed bearing 187 thereon for receiving a band 188 having spaced arms 189. The link `58 is pivotally secured between the arms 189 by a pin 191 retained in positon by a set screw 192 threaded in an aperture in the end of the link 58. It will be noted in the arrangement of FlGURE 1, that the link 58 was driven from the Geneva operating shaft 52, and in the present arrangement the link 58 is driven from the separate shaft 178.

As illustrated more specifically in FIGURE 3, the chain 173 is driven by the sprocket 106 from the shaft 104. The chain drives the sprocket 48 of the head 47, the sprocket 172 on the shaft 171, the sprocket 181 on a shaft 178 and an idler sprocket 193 which is adjustable to take up the chain slack. The operation is the same as that described above for the structure illustrated in FIG- URE 1. The structure of FIGURES 2 and 3 has the link 58 separately driven and the Geneva element 151 is reciprocable on its shaft 152.

A programming device is employed for controlling the pomt and time of dwell of the Geneva element 151. During the dwell time the needle 98 continues to apply loops about the coil 81 until the number set by the program had been reached whereupon the Geneva element 151 is automatically raised into operating position so that loops can be applied as the wound stator is again advanced in increments. While there are many known devices for producing such programming, that manufactured by the assignee company has been proven satisfactory. This device is known in the trade as Link Model H-S-C which controls up to tive levels and counts up to 7 99 units per level and as Link Model T-S-C which counts up to 999 units per level. A program can be set up on these models which provides the signal after a set number of needle strokes has occurred to move the piston rod 166 into the cylinder 167 for lowering the Geneva element 151.

In FIG. 6 the programming device 193 is connected by a circuit 194 to a solenoid 195 of a four-Way air valve 196 which controls the llow of air to and from the cylinder 167. After a set number of operations has been counted by the device 193 it will complete a circuit to the solenoid 195 which will operate the valve 196 to direct air through the conduit 197 to raise the piston rod 165 to disconnect the Geneva movement. This will interrupt the indexing of the stator and the needle will stitch loops above the coil for the numbers of time set in the programming device 193. After the set number of loops has `been stitched, a signal from the device will return the valve 194 and piston rod 165 to their initial positions and the Geneva movement will again advance the stator so that normal stitching can be resumed to the end of the operation or to another stop position.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, it will be noted that the cam ring 111 is made in two halves so that it can be removed without affecting other elements of the machine. A base ring 198 has an annular dovetail 199 at the top which receives a dovetail groove 201 in the two halves 202 and 203 of the ring 111. The ring is severed into two 180 halves on chordal lines 204 and 205 so as to have the mated edges disposed at an angle to the rolled 124 as it rolls thereacross. A plurality of lugs 206 are secured by screws 207 to the ring 198 to fix the ring halves 202 and 203 in angular adjusted position thereon. With this arrangement it is a simple matter to remove and replace the cam rings 109 and 111 when different cam surfaces are to be employed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a lacing machine for stitching loops about coils of a wound stator, a support, a pair of spaced plates on said support, a reciprocable needle bar, means for supporting said needle bar for tilting movement, a pinion on said needle bar, a rack engaging the teeth of the pinion for rotating the needle bar, a carriage for advancing and retracting said needle bar, means for tilting said needle bar, a rotatable support for a wound stator, a ring gear for advancing said stator, gear means in engagement with the teeth of the ring gear, a Geneva movement for operating said gear train, a thread guide tube within said ring gear, means for raising and lowering the thread guide tube, a guide sleeve for moving the top end guide tube above and `below the needle when the latter is in raised and lowered advanced positions, a needle having a hook end secured to the forward end of the needle bar, means for oscillating the thread guide tube for laying the thread in the hook end of the needle when presented theretoward during the rotation of the needle bar by the rack, an eccentric head linked to said carriage for producing its advancement and retraction, a sprocket for driving said eccentric head, a sprocket for driving said Geneva movement, a shaft disposed between said plates having a drive sprocket thereon, and a chain joining said sprockets for producing the rotation thereof, a pair of cam rings on said shaft, a pair of reciprocal cross members, rollers on said cross members engaging said cam rings for producing the raising and lowering of the cross members, and means connecting said cross members to the rack and to the raising and lowering means for the guide thread tube, drive means for said shaft for rotating the cam rings and sprockets for producing the synchronized movement of the needle, the thread guide tube, the Geneva movement and the advancement of the stator, and means for disconnecting the Geneva movement to interrupt the advancement of the ring gear and stator so that a plurality of loops may be laced at a desired point about a coil.

2. In a coil lacing machine, a reciprocal needle bar having a needle on the end containing a hook, means for advancing and retracting the needle bar, means for tilting the needle bar to raised and lowered positions, a thread laying element, means for raising and lowering said element above and below the needle when the latter is in advanced position, means for oscillating the thread laying means for laying the thread in the hook of the needle, a rotatable stator support, means for advancing the stator support by increments with dwell time therebetween, means for advancing the needle bar for moving the needle through a coil of the stator when in lowered position and above the coil when in raised position, and means for rotating the needle bar to present the hook toward the thread when being laid in the hook thereof and to face upwardly and downwardly thereafter so that the loop formed on the needle may move therefrom as the thread is drawn therethrough, drive means for producing said operations in synchronism, said means for rotating the needle bar being a rack and pinion, means for reciprocating said rack, and a link system in said rack reciprocating means which increases the movement of the rack relative to the movement of said reciprocating means.

3. In a coil lacing machine, a reciprocal needle bar having a needle on the end containing a hook, means for advancing and retracting the needle bar, means for tilting the needle bar to raised and lowered positions, a thread laying element, means for raising and lowering said elements above and below the needle when the latter is in advanced position, means for oscillating the thread laying means for laying the thread in the hook of the needle, a rotatable stator support, means for advancing the stator support by increments with dwell time therebetween, means for advancing the needle bar for moving the needle through a coil of the stator when in lowered position and above the coil when in raised position, and means for rotating the needle bar to present the hook toward the thread when being laid in the hook thereof and to face upwardly and downwardly thereafter so that the loop formed on the needle may move therefrom as the thread is drawn therethrough, drive means for producing said operations in synchronism, said advancing means for the stator support being a Geneva movement, and means for disconnecting the Geneva movement for a predetermined time for producing a plurality of loops about a coil at a selected position of the stator.

4. In a coil lacing machine, a reciprocal needle bar having a needle on the end containing a hook, means for advancing and retracting the needle bar, means for tilting the needle bar to raised and lowered positions, a thread laying element, means for raising and lowering said element above and below the needle when the latter is in advanced position, means for oscillating the thread laying means for laying the thread in the hook of the needle, a rotatable stator support, means for advancing the stator support by increments with dwell time therebetween, means for advancing the needle bar for moving the needle through a coil of the stator when in lowered position and above the coil when in raised position, and means for rotating the needle bar to present the hook toward the thread when being laid in the hook thereof and to face upwardly and downwardly thereafter so that the loop formed on the needle may move therefrom as the thread is drawn therethrough, drive means for producing said operations in synchronism, said advancing means for the stator support being a Geneva movement, means for disconnecting the Geneva movement for a predetermined time for producing a plurality of loops about a coil at a selected position of the stator, and programming means providing signals for disconnecting and connecting the Geneva movement.

5. In a machine for forming loops about the coils of a wound stator, a rotatable support for the stator, a needle having a hook, means for advancing said needle through a coil, means for laying a thread in the hook of the needle which is rotated when retracted from the coil to have the formed loop thereon move therefrom as the thread is pulled therethrough, means for raising the needle and advancing it above the coil so that the thread may be laid in the hook of the needle which is rotated when retracted so that the loop thereon may slide therefrom as the thread is drawn therethrough, a Geneva drive for operating the stator support by increments of advancement, and means for disconnecting the Geneva drive to stop the advancement of the stator so that a plurali-ty of loops may be formed at a selected point on a coil.

6. In a machine for forming loops about the coils of a wound stator, a rotatable support for the stator, a needle having a hook, means for advancing said needle having a hook through a coil, means for laying a thread in the hook of the needle which is rotated when retracted from the coil to have the formed loop thereon move therefrom as the thread is pulled therethrough, means for raising the needle and advancing it above the coil so that the thread may be laid in the hook of the needle which is rotated when retracted so that the loop thereon may slide therefrom as the thread is drawn therethrough, a Geneva drive for operating the stator support by increments of advancement, said Geneva device having a Geneva element containing slots located equal angular distances apart, a driving member having an engaging element movable into and out of said slots to advance the Geneva element in steps with dwell time therebetween, and means for moving one of said elements to a position out of engagement with the other said element to interrupt the advancement of the Geneva element and permit the needle to form additional loops at the same point on the stator.

7. In a machine for forming loops about the coils of a wound stator, a rotatable support for the stator, a needle having a hook, means for advancing said needle through a coil, means for laying a thread in the hook of the needle which is rotated when retracted from the coil to have the formed loop thereon move therefrom as the thread is pulled therethrough, means for raising the needle and advancing it above the coil so that the thread may be laid in the hook of the needle which is rotated when retracted so that the loop thereon may slide therefrom as the thread is drawn therethrough, a Geneva drive for operating the stator support by increments of advancement, said Geneva device having a Geneva element containing slots located equal angular distances apart, a driving member having an engaging element movable into and out of said slots to advance the Geneva element in steps with dwell time therebetween, and means for moving one of said elements to a position out of engagement with the other said element to interrupt the advancement of the Geneva element to permit a plurality of loops to be formed at one point on the stator, said means for moving one of said elemen-ts being a piston rod and a rocking bar controlling the position of said one element.

8. In a loop forming machine for coils of wound stator, a supporting base structure, a rotatable support for the wound stator containing a ring gear, a gear train for driving said ring gear, a Geneva drive for said ring gears having a conical end for frictionally receiving a driving gear of said gear train, a shaft rotatably mounted on said base having a pin for driving the Geneva element of the Geneva drive, a reciprocable needle bar, a support for said reciprocable needle bar, means for oscillating said needle bar about its axis, means for tilting said needle bar to and from lowered and raised positions, a needle having a hook supported on the end of the needle bar, means for advancing and retracting the needle bar beyond and from the coil when in raised and lowered positions, a thread laying device having a thread delivering end which is raised above and below the needle when the needles is in raised and lowered positions, means for oseillating the thread laying device and synchronized drive means for advancing the needle bar while it is rot-ated to present the hook of the needle toward the thread laying device which oscillates to lay the thread therein, the continued rotation of the needle as it is being withdrawn permitting the formed loop to slip therefrom as the thread is pulled through the loop as the stator is advanced by the Geneva device, said synchronized drive means embodying a shaft, a pair of spaced ca-m rings on said shaft, a sprocket on said shaft for producing the reciprocation of the needle bar, the reciprocation of the needle bar, the reciprocation and oscillation of the thread laying device and the advancement of the stator, a pair of cross bars having rollers thereon engaging the cam rings, spring means urging the rollers against said cam rings, a link connecting one of the cross bars to the needle oscillating means, link means connected to the other cross bar for operating the needle bar tilting means, and for raising and lowering the thread laying device and motor means for driving said shaft.

9. In a machine for producing work on an element, means for mounting said element for rotation, a Geneva drive for advancing said mounting means in increments of advancement, means for performing a work operation on the element after each advancement of said mounting means, means for disconnecting said Geneva drive to stop the advancement of said mounting means so that the work operation will be repeated on said element, means for connecting said Geneva drive to continue the advancement of said mounting means, and a programming device for controlling the disconnecting means for stopping and starting the Geneva drive.

10. In a machine for performing work operations having -a shaft with a cam ring thereabout, said cam ring being made from two halves severed on chordal lines, and means for supporting said ring on the shaft with the mated severed edges disposed at an angle to a radius from the center of the shaft.

11. In a machine for performing work operations having a shaft with a cam ring thereabout, said cam ring being made from two 180 halves having a dovetailed groove on their inner edge, an annular ring secured on said shaft having a dovetail on the outer edge for engaging the dovetail groove of the ring halves, and lugs secured to said annular ring for clamping the ring halves thereto.

12. In a machine for performing work operations having a shaft with a cam ring thereabout, said cam ring being made from two 180 halves having a dovetailed groove on their inner edge, an annular ring secured on said shaft having a dovetail on the outer edge for engaging the dovetail groove of the ring halves, and lugs secured to said annular ring for clamping the ring halves thereto, said cam ring being severed on chordal lines to provide abutted edges located at an angle to a radius from the center of the shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 522,880 7/ 1894 Cortright 74-567 555,534 3/ 1896 Schneider 74-567 1,500,281 7/ 1924 Starnes 74-567 2,075,213 3/ 1937 Lindner. 2,465,665 3/ 1949 Slavek. 2,883,949 4/ 1959 Ammann. 3,050,019 8/ 1962 Musk-ulus. 3,344,760 10/ 1967 Muskulus et al. 112-102 XR 1,557,099 10/1925 Schulze 287-53 2,580,871 1/1952 Wirtz 66-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 903,991 10/ 1945 France.

JAMES R. BOLER, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. XR. 66-1; 74-436 

